Mechanism for moving centering members for containers in container filling machines

ABSTRACT

A machine for filling containers with liquids has a vessel which rotates about a vertical axis and carries an annulus of downwardly extending filling devices each of which guides a reciprocable centering and sealing member for a container which is held in register with the respective filling device during introduction of a liquid. The mechanism for moving the centering member toward and from sealing engagement with a container below the respective filling device employs a one-armed lever which is pivoted to the vessel and is articulately connected with the centering member, a link which is connected to an intermediate portion of the lever, a bell crank which is pivotably mounted on the vessel and has a first arm coupled to the link and a second arm provided with a follower, a stationary cam which is tracked by the follower, and a helical spring which reacts against the vessel and biases the follower against the cam. When the cam allows the spring to expand, the centering member descends into sealing and centering engagement with a container.

United States Patent ['19] t Rademacher MECHANISM FOR MOVING CENTERING MEMBERS FOR CONTAINERS IN CONTAINER FILLING MACHINES [75] lnventor: Friedrich Rademacher,

Kamen-Sudkamen, Germany [73] Assignee: Holstein & Kappert Maschinenfabrik, Dortmund, Germany [22] Filed: Jan. 28, 1972 [211 Appl. No.: 221,544

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 28, 1971 Germany 2103983 [52] US. Cl 141/258, 74/519, 141/147, 141/181 [51] Int. Cl. B67c 3/34 .[58] Field of Search 141/165, 146-148, 141/149-150, 177, 181, 182, 255, 258, 260, 261, 267, 269; 222/1685; 74/519; 53/367 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,958,306 5/1934 La Bombard et al 53/367 X 2,107,987 2/1938 Johnson 141/255 X 2.5921146 4/1952 Ayars 141/147 X 2.761.607 9/1956 Ayars 141/147 3,106,231 10/1963 Lehman ..141/255X Primary Examiner1-1ouston S. Bell, .lr.

Assistant Examiner-Charles Gorenstein Attorney, Agent, or FirmMichael S. Striker 5 7 ABSTRACT A machine for filling containers with liquids has a vessel which rotates about a vertical axis and carries an annulus of downwardly extending filling devices each of which guides a reciprocable centering and sealing member for a container which is held in register with the respective filling device during introduction of a liquid. The mechanism for moving the centering member toward and from sealing engagement with a container below the respective filling device employs a one-armed lever which is pivoted to the vessel and is articulately connected with the centering member, a link which is connected to an intermediate portion of the lever, a bell crank which is pivotably mounted on the vessel and has a first arm coupled to the link and a second arm provided with a follower, a stationary cam which is tracked by the follower, and a helical spring which reacts against the vessel and biases the follower against the cam. When the cam allows the spring to expand, the centering member descends into sealing and centering engagement with a container.

10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED V sum 1 or 2 F/GIZ PATENTED SHEU 2 OF 2 MECHANISM FOR MOVING CENTERING MEMBERS FOR CONTAINERS IN CONTAINER FILLING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in machines for the filling of bottles, cans and/or analogous containers with metered quantities of liquids, particularly with carbonated beverages. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in means for moving the container centering and sealing members of such machines.

A machine for the filling of bottles or cans with beer or other types of carbonated beverages normally employs a ring-shaped vessel which rotates about a vertical axis and carries an annulus of downwardly extending filling devices each of which registers with a discrete container during a filling cycle. The containers are normally furnished and removed by a conveyor which extends along a portion of the endless path for the filling devices. A centering member (also called bell) is normally provided for each filling device and is movable relative thereto into and from centering and sealing engagement with a container therebelow to thus insure proper sealing of the open upper end of the container prior, during and (if necessary) after filling, as well as to properly center the container relative to the respective filling device.

In many presently known filling machines, the centering members are reciprocable by fluid-operated motors which are controlled by programmed valves and must be connected with a source of pressurized fluid by means of pipes, distributors and certain other parts which contribute to the cost and bulk of the filling machine. The situation is further aggravated by the factv that the stresses which a centering member can apply to an empty or filled container must be maintained within a definite range in order to insure a satisfactory sealing and centering action on the one hand but to prevent deformation or complete crushing of a container on the other hand. Moreover, it is often necessary to change the magnitude of such stresses, and each adjustment of a conventional filling machine consumes much time and must be carried out by skilled workmen. It is further important to prevent excessive unbalanced stressing of the rotating vessel when one or more centering members dwell in sealing engagement with containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION and from engagement with containers during a filling cycle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism which does not unduly stress the bearings for the support on which the centering members are mounted for movement into and from sealing and centering engagement with cans, bottles or analogous containers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism which can be rapidly adjusted by persons having little skill to thereby furnish a stronger or less pronounced sealing and/or centering action.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a mechanism which comprises a small number of simple parts, which can be installed in existing filling machines as a superior and less expensive substitute for many presently known means which are utilized to move centering members, and which insures a satisfactory sealing and centering action in machines wherein the interior of a container must be evacuated prior to introduction of a fluid, wherein the introduction of a liquid takes place while the interior of the container is maintained at an elevated pressure, and wherein the containers to be filled are either brittle or consist of relatively thin sheet stock so that the sealing and centering forces cannot be increased at will.

The invention resides in the provision of a machine for filling bottles, cans and/or similar containers with a fiuid, particularly with a carbonated beverage. The machine comprises a support (e.g., a ring-shaped liquidcontaining vessel which is rotatable about a vertical axis), guide means provided on the support (such guide means can constitute or form part of a conventional filling device which is provided on and normally extends downwardly from the vessel to orbit therewith along .an endless circular path a portion of which is located above and registers with a portion of the path for containers which are being transported by a turntable or another conveyor), a container centering member which is reciprocable along the guide means between spaced centering and idle or retracted positions, and novel and improved means (preferably a mechanism comprising mechanical parts) for moving the centering member. Such moving means comprises a carrier (e. g., a one-armed lever) which is pivoted to the support at one end and is articulately connected with the centering member at the other end, a linkage mounted on the support and including a plurality of interconnected elements movable relative to each other to thereby pivot the carrier, biasing means for urging the elements toward first positions relative to each other in which the carrier maintains the centering member in one of its positions (preferably in the centering position), and cam and follower means operative to move the elements relative to each other against the opposition of the biasing means and to thereby move the centering member to the other of its positions. One element of the linkage is preferably a link which is articulately connected with an intermediate portion of the carrier and another element of the linkage is preferably a bell crank lever which is pivotably mounted on the support, one arm of which is coupled to the link and another arm of which is provided with a follower serving to track a stationary cam under the action of a helical spring which constitutes a biasing means.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved mechanism itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic fragmentary elevational view of a filling machine wherein the centering members for containers are reciprocated by a mechanism embodying the invention, the centering member of FIG. I being shown in its idle position;

FIG. 2 is a similar diagrammatic view but showing the centering member of FIG. 1 in its operative position; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of a detail in the structure of FIGS. 1 or 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a portion of a machine which is utilized to introduce metered quantities of a liquid (particularly a carbonated beverage such as beer) into aluminum cans 32 or analogous containers. The machine comprises a support here shown as a ring-shaped vessel 30 which contains a supply of liquid (preferably below a cushion of a compressed gaseous medium) and is arranged to rotate about a vertical axis A-A. The containers 32 (only one shown in FIG. 2) are supported by a conveyor 33 (e.g. a turntable) which transports the containers during a filling cycle in such a way that each container remains in alignment with one of an annulus of discrete container filling devices 1 (only one shown) mounted at the underside of the vessel 30 so as to orbit about the axis A-A. The exact manner in which the containers 32 are being filled with a liquid during travel below the vessel 30 forms no part of the present invention.

In order to insure that the containers 32 are properly centered and sealed during movement below the vessel 30 and in register with the respective filling devices 1, the machine comprises a set of vertically reciprocable centering members 4, one for each filling device 1,

each of which can be raised above or lowered into centering and sealing engagement with the container 32 below the respective filling device 1.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of novel and improved means for moving the centering'members 4 up and down during predetermined stages of orbital movement of such centering members about the axis A-A. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each filling device 1 comprises an upper cylindrical guide portion 2 and a coaxial lower cylindrical guide portion 3, Each centering member 4 is provided with a larger-diameter bore for reception of the respective guide portion 2 and with a smaller-diameter bore for reception of the respective guide portion 3. It is clear, however, that the guide means on the filling devices 1 can be designed in any other suitable way.

The means for reciprocating the centering members 4 with reference to the associated filling devices 1 into and out of engagement with the containers 32 below such filling devices comprises for each centering member 4 an elongated carrier here shown as onearmed lever 7 the free end of which is provided with a cylindrical or spherical head 6 received between two parallel horizontal rails 6a, 6b provided on the respective centering member 4. The lever 7 is'fulcrumed in the vessel 30, as at 8, so that it can pivot about a horizontal axis which is normal to and crosses in space with the axis A-A. An intermediate portion of the lever 7 is provided with a pivot pin 9 for the lower end of a link 10 whose upper end is connected with the shorter arm .12 of a bell-crank lever 15 by a further pivot pin 11.

The lever 15 is fulcrumed in the vessel 30, as at 14, andthe free end of its longer arm 13 carries a roller follower 19 which tracks a face at the underside of a stationary ring-shaped cam 20. The axes of the pivot members 9, ll, 14 are parallel to the axis of the pivot member 8. A biasing means here shown as a helical spring 16 reacts against the vessel 30, as at 18, and its uppermost convolution indirectly bears against the longer arm 13 of the bell crank lever 15 so that the lat-' ter tends to turn in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 1 or 2, and to maintain the peripheral surface of the roller follower 19 in engagement with the face of the underside of the cam 20. The direction in which the spring 16 tends to expand is indicated by an arrow 17. The arrow 5 indicates the direction in which the centering member 4 moves relative to the filling device 1 when the spring 16 is free to dissipate energy.

. FIG. 3 shows that the pivot members 8, 14 for the levers 7 and 15 are mounted in a bracket 21 of the vessel 30 and that this bracket comprises a platform 27 provided with a hole or bore 28 for the stern of the retainer 18 for the lower end convolution of the spring 16. The upper end convolution of the spring 16 bears against a plate 26 which is mounted on a horizontal shaft .25 of the arm 13 so that the plate 26 can remain in a substantially horizontal position irrespective of the angular position of the lever 15. The roller follower 19 has an externally threaded shank 24 which is received in a tapped bore at the free end of the arm 13 so that, by rotating the shaft 24, the roller follower 19 can be moved nearer to or further away from the axis of the pivot member 14.

The operation is as follows:

The vessel 30 is assumed to rotate about the vertical axis A-A and the conveyor 33 is assumed to transport successive empty containers 32 into register with successive filling devices 1 at a first station and to move filled containers 32 outof register with the corresponding filling devices at a second station which is angularly spaced from the first station. The containers 32 are being filled with a liquid during travel between the two stations, i.e., while they register with the respective filling devices. The'purpose of the centering members 4 is to insure that each container 32 remains in accurate axial .alignment with the corresponding filling device 1 during transport between the two stations, as well as that the inlet opening in the upper portion of such container is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere, at least during certain stages of a filling cycle. Such sealing is particularly important when the containers 32 are to be filled with a carbonated beverage.

The roller follower 19 of FIG. 1 is shown as being in engagement with a lobe or downwardly extending portion of the stationary cam 20 so that the arm 13 of the bell crank lever 15 stresses the spring 16 and the head 6 of the lever 7 is maintained at a relatively high level in which the portion 6 holds the respective centering member 4 in its upper or idle position in which the member 4 cannot interfere with the delivery of an empty container 32 into substantial alignment with the filling device 1 at the first station or with removal of a filled container 32 from registry with such filling device at the second station. FIG. 2 shows the centering member 4 in its lower or centering position in which the member 4 is in sealing and centering engagement with the adjacent container 32. The spring 16 then biases the follower 19 against a raised portion of the cam 20 so that the head 6 of the lever 7 dwells in its lower end position. The configuration of the cam 20 can be readily selected in such a way that the centering member 4 moves up and/or down at several speeds; for example, the member 4 can be caused to rapidly descend from the idle position of FIG. 1 toward but short of the centering position of FIG. 2 and to thereupon slowly descend into sealing and centering engagement with the upper portion of the container 32 therebelow.

An important advantage of theillustrated mechanism which serves to move the centering member 4 relative to the filling device 1 and a container 32 which is placed below such filling device is that the mechanism is much simpler, more rugged, less expensive and more reliable than presently employed moving means for centering members. As mentioned above, the presently known moving means normally employ hydraulic or pneumatic motors which must be controlled by complex valves and are connected with fluid supplying and discharging means by a number of pipes, hoses, nipples, shutoff valves and analogous auxiliaries.

The spring 16 can be readily designed to furnish a bias which suffices to maintain the centering member 4 in its lower end position with a force which suffices to insure a satisfactory sealing and centering action during each stage of a filling cycle. A satisfactory sealing action is especially important when the introduction of liquid into a container 32 takes place while the interior of the container is maintained at an elevated pressure and also when the interior of the container must be evacuated prior to filling.

Another important advantage of the improved mechanism is that the centering member 4 can be readily lifted above and away from a filled container and that the force which is furnished by the cam 20 to bring about an upward movement of the member 4 produces negligible tilting stresses which must be taken up by the bearings for the vessel 30.

The bias upon the arm 13 of the bell crank lever 15 can be changed by replacing the spring 16 with a differently dimensioned spring, by changing the position of the retainer 18 relative to the platform 27, and/or by moving the vessel 30 vertically relative to the cam 20 or vice versa. The bias of the centering member 4 upon a container 32 therebelow cannot be selected at will, especially if the container consists of a vitreous material or relatively thin aluminum sheet stock. Such containers are likely to be crushed in response to excessive stressing by the centering members. Due to the aforedescribed construction of the mechanism for moving the centering member 4, the tilting moment which must be taken up by the bearings for the vessel is but s small fraction of the force which is furnished by the spring 16 during compression, i.e., while the member 4 moves upwardly toward the position shown in FIG. 1. This will be readily understood by considering the effect of the projections of moments of the levers 7 and 15 in a direction at right angles to the action of forces.

Since the cam 20 can be readily designed to decelerate the centering member 4 during the last stage of its movement into sealing engagement with a container 32 therebelow, the likelihood of undesirable impact against and eventual crushing or at least partial deformation of containers during engagement with centering members is practically non-existent. As a rule, the sealing action will be greatest during evacuation of a container prior to introduction of metered quantities of a liquid medium. At such stage of a filling operation, the pressure upon a container may reach about 40 kp. If the sealing action were unsatisfactory, the centering member 4 would be likely to rise together with an evacuated container therebelow. The likelihood of such lifting is greatly reduced by selecting the angle between the arm 12 of the bell crank lever 15 and the link 10 in such a way that the angle closely approximates (but preferably does not reach or exceed) 180 degrees (see FIG. 2). Such mounting of the elements 10, 15 of the linkage furnishes a self-locking action (as a result of friction at 9, 11 and 14) so that the spring 16 is highly unlikely to yield and to allow the centering member 4 to rise when the follower 19 tracks a raised portion of the face at the underside of the cam 20. It was found that the aforementioned self-locking action insures a satisfactory seal between the centering member 4 and a container 32 therebelow even if the spring 16 is designed to press the member 4 against the container with a force which, in the absence of self-locking action between the parts 7, l0 and 15, would merely suffice to seal the container during the precompression and filling stages of a complete cycle. As shown in FIG. 1, the angle between the arm 12 and the link 10 exceeds degrees even when the centering member 4 is maintained in its upper end position. This angle increases as the centering member 4 moves toward the lower end position of FIG. 2.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of my contribution to the art and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. In a machine for filling containers with a fluid, a combination comprising a support; guide means provided on said support; a container centering member reciprocable along said guide means between spaced centering and idle positions; and means for moving said member, comprising an elongated carrier having one end pivoted to said support and another end connectedto said member, a linkage mounted on said support, coupled to said carrier at a location intermediate said ends and including a plurality of interconnected elements movable relative to each other to thereby pivot said carrier, biasing means engaging said linkage and biasing the same away from said carrier and being operative for urging said elements toward first positions relative to each other in which said carrier maintains said member in one of said centering and idle positions, and cam and follower means operative to move said elements relative to each other against the opposition of said biasing means to second positions in which said carrier moves said member to the other of said centering and idle positions.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said carrier is a one-armed lever and one-element of said linkage comprises a bell crank lever having a first arm and a second arm being pivoted to said support, an-

. -7 other element of said linkage comprising a link connecting one arm of said bell crank'lever with said onearmed lever.

3. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said cam and follower means comprises a follower provided on the other arm of said bell crank lever and a stationary cam against which said follower is urged by said biasing means, said support being movable relative to said cam.

4. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said one arm of said bell crank lever makes with said link an angle greater than 90 in all positions of said elements relative to each other.

5. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said one arm of said bell crank lever makes with said link an oblique angle in the centering position of said member.

6. A combination as defined in claim 5, wherein said 7 angle substantially exceeds 90 and is less than 180.

7. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said biasing means includes a biasing element bearing upon said support and second arm and arranged to normally maintain said member in said centering position, said one arm of said bell crank lever making with said link an angle which increases in response to movement of said member from said idle toward said centering position thereof.

8. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said support includes a liquid-containing vessel which is arranged to rotate about an axis extendingin at least substantial parallelism with the direction of reciprocatory movement of said member, said carrier comprising a one-armed lever which is pivotable relative to said support about a second axis which is normal to the axis of rotation of said support, one of said elements constituting a bell crank lever having a first arm and a second arm and being pivotable in said support about a third axis which is parallel to said second axis, another element of said linkage constituting a link which connects said first arm with an intermediate portion of said onearmed lever and said cam and follower means comprising a stationary cam and a follower provided on said second arm and arranged to track said cam under the r action of said biasing means.

9. In a machine for filling containers with a fluid, a combination comprising a support including a liquidcontaining vessel which is arranged to rotate about an axis; guide means provided on said support; a container centering member reciprocable along said guide means in at least substantial parallelism with said axis between spaced centering and idle positions; and means for moving said member, comprising an elongated carrier which includes a one-armed lever pivotable relative to said support about a second axis which is normal to the axis of rotation of said support, said carrier having one end pivoted to said support and another end connected to said member, a linkage mounted on said support,

coupled to said carrier intermediate said ends and including a plurality of interconnected elements movable relative to each other to thereby pivot said carrier, one of said elements constituting a bell crank lever having a first arm and a second arm and being pivotable in said support about a third axis which is parallel to said second axis, another element of said linkage constituting a link which connects said first arm with an intermediate portion of said one-armed lever, biasing means comprising a prestressed spring located intermediate said ends and operative for urging said elements toward first positions relative to each other in which said carrier maintains said member in one of said centering and idle positions, said spring bearing against said support and said second arm to urge said bell crank lever to an angular position corresponding to said centering position of said member, and cam and follower means operative to move said elements relative to each other against the opposition of said biasing means and to thereby move said member to the other of said centering and idle positions, said cam-and follower means comprising a stationary cam and a follower provided on said second arm and arranged to track said cam under the action of said biasing means.

10. A combination as defined in claim 9, wherein said guide means forms part of a container filling device provided on said vessel. 

1. In a machine for filling containers with a fluid, a combination comprising a support; guide means provided on said support; a container centering member reciprocable along said guide means between spaced centering and idle positions; and means for moving said member, comprising an elongated carrier having one end pivoted to said support and another end connected to said member, a linkage mounted on said support, coupled to said carrier at a location intermediate said ends and including a plurality of interconnected elements movable relative to each other to thereby pivot said carrier, biasing means engaging said linkage and biasing the same away from said carrier and being operative for urging said elements toward first positions relative to each other in which said carrier maintains said member in one of said centering and idle positions, and cam and follower means operative to move said elements relative to each other against the opposition of said biasing means to second positions in which said carrier moves said member to the other of said centering and idle positions.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said carrier is a one-armed lever and one-element of said linkage comprises a bell crank lever having a first arm and a second arm being pivoted to said support, another element of said linkage comprising a link connecting one arm of said bell crank lever with said one-armed lever.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said cam and follower means comprises a follower provided on the other arm of said bell crank lever and a stationary cam against which said follower is urged by said biasing means, said support being movable relative to said cam.
 4. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said one arm of said bell crank lever makes with said link an angle greater than 90* in all positions of said elements relative to each other.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said one arm of said bell crank lever makes with said link an oblique angle in the centering position of said member.
 6. A combination as defined in claim 5, wherein said angle substantially exceeds 90* and is less than 180*.
 7. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said biasing means includes a biasing element bearing upon said support and second arm and arranged to normally maintain said member in said centering position, said one arm of said bell crank lever making with said link an angle which increases in response to movement of said member from said idle toward said centering position thereof.
 8. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said support includes a liquid-containing vessel which is arranged to rotate about an axis extending in at least substantial parallelism with the direction of reciprocatory movement of said member, said carrier comprising a one-armed lever which is pivotable relative to said support about a second axis which is normal to the axis of rotation of said support, one of said elements constituting a bell crank lever having a first arm and a second arm and being pivotable in Said support about a third axis which is parallel to said second axis, another element of said linkage constituting a link which connects said first arm with an intermediate portion of said one-armed lever and said cam and follower means comprising a stationary cam and a follower provided on said second arm and arranged to track said cam under the action of said biasing means.
 9. In a machine for filling containers with a fluid, a combination comprising a support including a liquid-containing vessel which is arranged to rotate about an axis; guide means provided on said support; a container centering member reciprocable along said guide means in at least substantial parallelism with said axis between spaced centering and idle positions; and means for moving said member, comprising an elongated carrier which includes a one-armed lever pivotable relative to said support about a second axis which is normal to the axis of rotation of said support, said carrier having one end pivoted to said support and another end connected to said member, a linkage mounted on said support, coupled to said carrier intermediate said ends and including a plurality of interconnected elements movable relative to each other to thereby pivot said carrier, one of said elements constituting a bell crank lever having a first arm and a second arm and being pivotable in said support about a third axis which is parallel to said second axis, another element of said linkage constituting a link which connects said first arm with an intermediate portion of said one-armed lever, biasing means comprising a prestressed spring located intermediate said ends and operative for urging said elements toward first positions relative to each other in which said carrier maintains said member in one of said centering and idle positions, said spring bearing against said support and said second arm to urge said bell crank lever to an angular position corresponding to said centering position of said member, and cam and follower means operative to move said elements relative to each other against the opposition of said biasing means and to thereby move said member to the other of said centering and idle positions, said cam and follower means comprising a stationary cam and a follower provided on said second arm and arranged to track said cam under the action of said biasing means.
 10. A combination as defined in claim 9, wherein said guide means forms part of a container filling device provided on said vessel. 